Hogwarts’ famed headmaster Albus Dumbledore, brought to life by Irish actor Richard Harris, and subsequently Irish-English actor Michael Gambon after the former’s death, will be portrayed by American actor John Lithgow. Lithgow’s past credits include Footloose, Shrek, Dreamgirls, Dexter, How I Met Your Mother, The Crow, Interstellar, Killers of the Flower Moon, and, more recently, Conclave.
Speaking to Colliderthe actor confirmed he’d take on an English accent for the role. saying: “[Dumbledore’s] certainly an Englishman. In fact, there’s a good deal of controversy that an American has been hired to play him. He’s such an icon. I’m half-English. I’ve just played Roald Dahl. I’ve played Winston Churchill. I’ll spend some time with a dialect coach, don’t worry about that. But no, I mean, Dumbledore couldn’t possibly be anything other than English. I just have to do my best. The wonderful thing is, I was welcomed by every English actor I worked with on The Crown. They had far more confidence in me and my Englishness than I did myself.”
Janet McTeer is Minerva McGonagall
Composite: Getty Images, ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
English actor Janet McTeer will follow in late Maggie Smith’s footsteps in portraying Minerva McGonagall — Hogwarts’ deputy headmistress, professor of Transfiguration, and head of Gryffindor House.
63-year-old McTeer’s credits include Wuthering Heights, Maleficent, Insurgent, Sense & Sensibility, Jessica Jones, Ozark, KAOS, Me Before You, Gangs of Londonand more recently, MobLand and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. She also appeared alongside OG Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe in 2012’s The Woman in Black.
Paapa Essiedu is Severus Snape
Composite: Getty Images, ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
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